Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The team began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) by businessman Arthur B "Mickey" McBride.

The story of their naming is pretty unique. Owner McBride selected Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as vice president, general manager and head coach. The franchise held a typical team naming contest in 1945 and the popular choice was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown. He was already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports.

Brown objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers". But it turned out that the name Cleveland Panthers was already owned by an earlier failed football team. So, Brown agreed to the use of his name.

Brown was known in those early days for having the most intense recruiting network in pro football. He used his ties to the Buckeyes and the Navy (where he had coached a base football team during World War II) to assemble a powerful team.

The NY Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (As an NJ lifer, I still think they should be the New Jersey Giants, but...)

The team is scheduled to play at the new Meadowlands Stadium in fall 2010 and will share the stadium with the New York Jets.

The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, but the only one admitted that year which still exists.

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In 1925, Tim Mara purchased New York’s first professional football team for a reported $500. Mara decided on Giants because his team would play at the Polo Grounds, the home of baseball’s New York Giants. The original baseball Giants derived their name from the city’s giant skyscraper buildings.

To distinguish the team from the baseball team, the football team was incorporated as the "New York Football Giants." Even after the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continued to use "New York Football Giants, Inc." as its legal corporate name. Many fans and sportscasters refer to them as the "New York Football Giants".

The team has also gained several nicknames, including "Big Blue," the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew," and the "Jints." The latter nickname is used sometimes in the New York Post, and originates from the baseball team when they were based in New York.

New York Giants: The Complete Illustrated History